tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046071861494986299.post1531232957384589330..comments2023-08-26T05:08:54.898-07:00Comments on Magic, maths and money: Objections to ObjectivityTim Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06952723922503939504noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046071861494986299.post-85507806606205820942014-05-12T08:03:36.448-07:002014-05-12T08:03:36.448-07:00Perhaps my wording was poor. I think we agree sin...Perhaps my wording was poor. I think we agree since I am quite concerned with the fallibility of authority. My point was when "objectivity" becomes a nothing but an appeal (by an authority) to a disembodied ideal. I tend to feel that there should be more modesty in attitude by authorities and those who appeal to them. I think it should clearly stated that we must always wait and see what continues (doesn't go away) despite our newly propounded beliefs/stories/accounts.S Denslowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04568186440569189354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046071861494986299.post-66162481551030938512014-05-12T00:51:40.207-07:002014-05-12T00:51:40.207-07:00Is what I perceive as red the same as what you per...Is what I perceive as red the same as what you perceive as red, and if they are different does it matter? I think this is important in trying to understand what pragmatic philosophy of science is about.Tim Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06952723922503939504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046071861494986299.post-67774465619286092282014-05-12T00:47:27.546-07:002014-05-12T00:47:27.546-07:00No, I think it is opposite since at its heart my c...No, I think it is opposite since at its heart my concern is the fallibility of authority.Tim Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06952723922503939504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046071861494986299.post-13870538164099244932014-05-11T15:23:32.729-07:002014-05-11T15:23:32.729-07:00One of the great explorers of subjective reality, ...One of the great explorers of subjective reality, Philip K. Dick, used to say: "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." It's just another version of Samuel Johnson's critique of Bishop Berkeley, "I refute it thus." Objectivity may be in the eye of the beholder, but objective reality exists and our ability to comprehend it is one of the great mysteries of the universe as the physicist Eugene Wigner noted in his discussion of "the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics".<br /><br />Scientists are stuck having to accept the existence of objective reality. Arguing that objective reality exists and that we can know useful things about it have nothing to do with whether one is in the audience or on the stage. The problem most outsiders see with economics is that economists do not seem to accept objective reality.Kaleberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05283840743310507878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046071861494986299.post-80731187637931055532014-05-11T12:34:18.666-07:002014-05-11T12:34:18.666-07:00Is this whole argument similar to those fundamenta...Is this whole argument similar to those fundamentalists who claim that scripture is inerrant. The question there is immediately "How do they know that something is perfect when they themselves are not perfect?" This is an old question. It seems to me that claims of fact and truth are often stated with an implication of some sort of perfection that is labeled "objectivity". It is logic such as this, simple though it is, that is the basis of my own dedication to a pragmatic approach to life in general and certainly science in particular.S Denslowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04568186440569189354noreply@blogger.com